Sandusky vs. Bell: Two similar cases, two very different responses

As State College, Penn. — and the nation — reel from the unfolding sex-abuse scandal at Penn State University, a defendant with similarities to Jerry Sandusky was sentenced last Monday in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.

Like Sandusky, Terrence Bell was a popular football coach. Like Sandusky, he was a trusted member of an educational institution. Like the allegations against Sandusky, Bell appeared to use his position to foster a sexual relationship with a minor.

A former coach and teacher’s aide at Kalamazoo’s Hillside Middle School, Bell was sentenced to a minimum of nine years in prison for nine counts of sexual abuse involving a student at Kalamazoo Central High School.

The apparent similarities between Sandusky and Bell didn’t escape Kalamazoo County Assistant Prosecutor Diane Hungerford, who referenced it during Monday’s court hearing.

“These allegations exist whether it’s Kalamazoo, Michigan, or Happy Valley, Pennsylvania,” Hungerford said last week. “People have to be aware” that adults in a position of trust will, at times, exploit that trust.

But Hungerford and other local officials also say there is a significant difference between the scandals in Kalamazoo and Happy Valley in terms of institutional response.

In Kalamazoo, when the 17-year-old victim disclosed the sexual relationship to her family this past April, they went promptly to police, who promptly investigated. Before Bell was even charged, he was put on leave by Kalamazoo Public Schools. Within six months of authorities first hearing about the accusation, Bell was convicted.

“I’m not aware of any red flags” that school officials ignored before the police report was filed, Hungerford said, and no evidence has surfaced that Bell has had a sexual relationship with any student other than the victim.

In short, this appears to be a case where a sexual predator was stopped before moving on to another victim.

By contrast, one of the real horrors of the Penn State case is that various authorities were alerted multiple times for more than a decade about Sandusky’s alleged abuse, with what appears to be minimal effort to ferret out the truth. Even with the abuse report that ultimately led to Sandusky’s arrest this month, the investigation lasted almost three years.

One factor is likely the difference between Michigan and Pennsylvania law when it comes to child-abuse cases.

In Pennsylvania, teachers, coaches and others are required to report suspected child abuse to their supervisors, who are then required to call police or Child Protective Services. It appears that system broke down at Penn State, as an eyewitness to an alleged rape by Sandusky reported the situation to his superiors, only to have the account of the incident watered down with every retelling and not relayed to outside authorities.

In Michigan, the law is much stronger. A teacher or coach is mandated to call police directly and immediately.

Carrie Klein, chief assistant prosecutor for Kalamazoo County, said Michigan’s mandatory reporting law is strong.

“There are lots of (people on the list of) mandatory reporters and the standard for reporting is low — it’s reasonable suspicion, versus beyond a reasonable doubt,” Klein said.

What was most surprising about the Penn State case, she said, is that the alleged abuse appeared “to continue for years and it was being done relatively openly in a college locker room and that there were that many victims. ... It makes you wonder.”

The most important lesson from both the Penn State and Terrence Bell cases, Klein and Hungerford said, is for parents and others to be aware of the possibility of abuse, even by people who seem unlikely to be perpetrators.

“The most important lesson is you can’t assume someone in a position of trust — just because they say, ‘I love kids,’ and they’re popular with kids — that they won’t violate that trust,” Klein said.

“Parents trust that schools are a safe place. But not always,” she said. “You have to listen to your children, and you have to make sure your children know” what to do if an adult behaves inappropriately.

Hungerford agreed. “We put on sunglasses and think things are not going to happen,” she said. “But when things don’t seem right, you need to ask questions.”